Infinities
by Anguirus111
Summary: A single event changed. A new timeline formed. Which path of time is right and which is wrong? Only you can decide your fate.
1. Star Fox: The Search for the Star Fox Te...

Anguirus111 note: I'm feeling philosophical all of the sudden and I'm going to write under this title, my stories only with a single even changed.  An example of this would be if Mantia had never existed, how might events have changed.  I'm going write a rendition like this for all of my stories.  Each chapter will be a different rewritten story with an event changed.  I got the idea from the Dark Horse comic book Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope where the showed what would've happened had the Death Star not exploded.  Oh by the way, anyone can do an Infinites type thing for your stories.  I think it's a cool idea.

Infinities: Star Fox the Search for the Star Fox Team 

500,000 years after the destruction of the Lylat System by Mantia: A strange object that seemed to shimmer as though it wasn't there appeared in the Lylat System.  The Lylat System was nothing but pieces of debris and rubble signifying where eight planets and a single star had once existed.  Inside the object there was a teacher and a student.

_"Why are we here?"_ asked the student.  The teacher pressed a few buttons on a device in the center of the room where they were and turned to face him.

"I'm here to show you the risks of our powers and how even the slightest change of events can severally affect an entire destiny.  Even five simple words can change the course of events as your or I know it," responded the teacher. 

_"I don't understand.  How can something so simple as five words change our fate.  I simply do not believe it,"_ said the student.  The teacher chuckled.

_"That's what I'm here to teach and show you,"_ he responded.

"I'll believe it when I see it.  Where are we anyway?" asked the student.  The teacher punched up an image of the current view of the system.  Then the teacher punched another button and the Lylat System as it appeared during its prime showed up. 

"_I give you the Lylat System.  In it's prime it was home to several billion creatures.  I say creatures because to us they look like humanoid animals and not actual humans.  It's not important.  Anyway, this system thrived for a long time under piece and prosperity until an insane monkey named Andross tried to take over.  It was then that this systems fate was sealed.  I'm not going to bother to explain what would happen if he didn't exist, you can figure that one out on your own, I'm here to explain what would happen if other things had changed.  How might that affect this systems outcome?  I start with events that occurred three years after a somewhat important war broke out when Andross tried to gain control.  In it a legendary team of individuals was captured by the enemy and were successfully rescued by a team with the help of Jake Thomas.  But what if something changed, what would be the outcome?  Let me show you.  Like I said, five words can make all the difference.  Let me show you,"_ said the teacher.  A nearby screen came alive and showed a conversation between two individuals.

"So Amup, do you need my to come by and drop off any supplies because I've got to make an important run to another one of my contacts," said Jake.  Amup considered the options.

_"And here come the five words that changed a system forever,"_ said the teacher.

"No.  That is not necessary," said Amup.

"Fine.  See you in five months," said Jake.  Amup shutoff the comm. system and was about to join his fellow monks in their studies when he heard a roar of engines outside.  Amup walked out and saw four fighters land outside the monastery.  The pilots got out of their crafts and approached Amup.

"Hi.  I'm Fox McCloud.  May we come in?" asked Fox.  Amup gestured to the monastery.

"Come in.  Our monastery is open to all people of Lylat," said Amup.  The five of them entered the monastery.  Amup picked up a tray and handed it to them.

"Tea?" he asked.  Fox, Peppy, and Slippy accepted some while Falco held out his palm to deny it.

"I'm touching none of this 'herbal' crap.  I'm going to check out the top of the monastery," he said.  Falco left.

"I'll go chat it up with some other monks," said Peppy.

"I'll go check the Arwings," said Slippy.  When they had all departed, Fox turned to Amup.  He held out a palm pilot, which showed a similar looking fox with shades.

"Have you ever seen this person?" he asked.  Amup looked at the image.

"I must confess that I have not.  We haven't had any visitors lately that I can recall.  May I be permitted to show this image to my fellow monks and see if they recognize this person?" asked Amup.  Fox motioned him away.

"Go, go," he said.  Amup took the palm pilot and walked away.

1 hr. later: Amup returned with the palm pilot.

"I am truly sorry, but no one recognizes a person with this face.  Why did you think that they'd be here?" asked Amup.  Fox sighed and retrieved the palm pilot.

"My father disappeared several years ago.  Everyone says that he's dead, but I refuse to give up hope.  An anonymous tip said that he'd been here recently," said Fox.  He turned to leave.

"Wait.  I hate to see someone leave so sad.  Here, I'll give you locations of other monasteries.  Maybe he visited one of them instead.  Here," said Amup giving him a scroll with the planet and moon locations of at least a dozen monasteries.

"Thanks.  Oh, don't tell anyone why I was here," said Fox leaving.  A moment later the four fighters flew away from the monastery.  Amup watched them go.  He then turned back towards the interior of the monastery and noticed the lightbulbs beginning to dim.

_"I hope they hold out until Jake makes his regular supply stop,"_ thought Amup.  He entered the monastery and didn't notice a large flash of light in the sky above.  The Great Fox had mysteriously vanished and no ship had appeared in orbit behind it.

Great Fox: "What's going on!" demanded Fox.  A blue tunnel was all around them.

"Looks like a warp," said Falco.  Slippy nodded in agreement.

"Yeah but where are we headed?" asked Peppy.  Suddenly the warp ended and the Great Fox found itself surrounded by dozens of Venomian Warships.

"Send another distress call," said Fox.  Slippy pressed a few buttons.

"We're being jammed.  Where are we?" asked Slippy.  They all looked to see Nebula X appear from behind a piece of the warp gate entrance that they were in.

"Then that means," began Falco.

"Where're currently inside Andross' old base which contained," continued Peppy.

"A warp gate," finished Peppy.  Several ion blasts flew out and disabled their ship.

"Looks like we're not going anywhere," said Rob.  Then several ships entered the main bay and within moments the Star Fox team were unconscious after putting up a valiant fight.  They were dragged into their cells as Wolf, Pigma, and Leon toured the Great Fox.

"I told you Fox would believe anything regarding the location of his father.  He played right into our hands," said Wolf.

"Yep.  What do we do with this thing?" asked Leon pointing to the ship.

"I don't know.  Get rid of it.  How you do it is up to you.  I'm leaving this filthy place.  Oh, make sure the Rob unit is stripped of its memory and every scanner as well.  There must be no way to trace this ship here," said Wolf.  He then left the ship and headed for the main command center.

Venom: Inside one of Andross' remaining dimensional chambers, it crackled and fizzed.  Then an Arwing flew out and proceeded out of the chamber and into the sky above.

"_I must rescue Fox,_" though James.  His fighter escaped Venom and blasted into warp.

One day later, Macbeth's sixth moon: Two fighters appeared out of warp above the moon.

"Looks like nothing's in orbit," said Bill.

"I roger that.  Let's proceed to the surface," said Katt.  Their two fighters plunged through the atmosphere and zipped over the moon's surface.  It was a bright clear day out with only a few clouds.  Solar was shining brightly and peace was in the air.

"Do you have anything that could account for why they came here?" asked Bill.

"My sensors detect several energy trails headed for a monastery above the mountain of Macduff," Katt replied.

"I guess that will have to do. Let's set down," said Bill. Their two ships landed outside the monastery and were greeted by a puma standing up straight.

"Hello, my name is Amup, how can I help you?" he asked.

"Hi, we're looking for friends of ours named Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy," said Katt.

"Oh yes! They were here, but they're not here now," said Amup.

"Yeah well they disappeared shortly after being here," said Katt.

"Really. I didn't know that.  As you can see we are mostly simple folk. But please do come in," said Amup.

"Right… Anyway, we would like to know what they were doing here," said Katt.

"I wish I could tell you, but I can't.  It's confidential between Fox and Me," Amup said. The three of them walked into the monastery temple.

"Tea?" asked Amup.  Katt accepted a cup of fine china.

"Thanks.  Seriously though we need to know what Fox was doing here," she said.

"I'd love to tell you, but Fox said that he didn't want me to say.  I can only tell you that it was personal.  If you need anything please contact me or my fellow monks," said Amup walking off.  Bill sighed.

"I didn't think he was going to be of any help," he said.

"Yeah well, Fox told him not to tell," said Katt.  Bill glanced around and noticed the flickering lights.  He shrugged and returned to his thoughts.  A few moments later he heard a faint buzz.  He perked up and then walked towards his ship.

"What?" asked Katt.  Bill shrugged.

"Probably nothing," he said.  When the buzz began getting louder he quickened his pace.  He hopped into his fighter and checked his scanner.

"What's up?" asked Katt.  Bill looked at her.

"Get in your fighter right now.  We've got enemy fighters approaching," said Bill.  Katt looked to see a massive black spot moving straight towards them.  She ran for her fighter and powered it up.  A moment later they were gone but by that time the Venomians were upon them.  They opened fire and chewed up the ground all around them with laser fire.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Bill.  Their fighters leapt into the air and zoomed away from the enemy fighters.  However, they were right on their tails the entire way.

"We've got to loose these guys fast," said Katt.

"Agreed, but how?" asked Bill.  Katt was considering their options when a large canyon appeared directly in front of them.  The canyon branched out in two different directions but ultimately ended in the same spot.

"Let's divide and conquer," she said gunning her engine.  Katt's fighter plowed forward down the left trail of the canyon.  Bill noticed her strategy and took the right branch.  The Venomians split up their units and pursued each of the craft.  Leon blazed forward above the canyon determined to meet these two thorns in his side head on.  Down in the canyon, Bill and Katt twisted, dived, and climbed their fighters to avoid every obstacle.

"This was a bad idea," said Bill flying upside down.

"So sue me.  It's not like you had any better ideas," said Katt.  She slammed her fighter's engines to full burn as the other fighters were left behind.  Some tried to do the same but ultimately exploded when they rammed into various obstacles.  Katt and Bill finally met up at the end of the canyon and pulled out to see Leon waiting for them.

"I think I'll torture you for awhile," he said.  He opened fire and the blasts struck Bill and Katt's ship.  Katt's ship immediately began trailing smoke.

"I'm hit," she said coughing.  Bill pulled up alongside her.

"How bad?" he asked.

"I'm loosing fuel and power.  I don't think that I'll be able to make it anywhere," she said.

"Prepare to ditch your craft," said Bill spinning his ship around.

"What're you going to do?" she asked.  He zoomed straight towards Leon's craft.

"I'm going to secure you a new ride," he said.  Leon opened fire on him from his WolfenII.  Bill activated his G-Diffuser and the blasts harmlessly flew off as he zoomed straight towards Leon.

"Chicken eh.  No matter, I don't blink.  I'm a lizard," said Leon.

"Correction, half lizard half robot," said Bill.  Leon growled and pushed his fighter forward.  The two opened fire on each other but almost all the shots were deflected.

"Stalemate," said Leon.

"Not quite," said Bill.  He fired one more blast and it bounced off of Leon's ship via the G-Diffuser.

"Looks like you've failed," said Leon.  Their fighters zipped by each other.

"Wrong buddy.  Check you left wing," said Bill.  Leon checked to see a strange device attached to his wing.

"What is that?" asked Leon.

"A little device developed by R&D.  It's designed to successfully be launched in a laser blast and the beauty of it is that if the blast is reflected, the device is still going to be attached to the enemy fighter because it ain't made of energy," said Bill.

"So what?  That thing won't provide a large enough blast to kill me.  Not with my titanium enforced hull," said Leon confidently while zooming after Bill's fighter who was headed for Katt's down one.

"It wasn't designed for an explosion.  Ionic disruption!" exclaimed Bill.  He pressed a button in his cockpit and Leon's fighter shut down.  His fighter was heading for a hard crash when Bill slapped a tractorbeam on his ship and lowered it to the ground.  Leon popped out and was about to aim his blaster and fire at Bill's ship when was knocked unconscious by Katt.

"Forget about me friend?" she asked.  She then hopped into Leon's fighter.

"Bill, this ship is no good, it's fried," she said.

"Thankfully the device doesn't fry the electrical systems, it merely represses them.  Here's the power you're looking for," said Bill.  The WolfenII's systems came back on.

"Let's get out of here before reinforcements arrive," said Bill.  Katt's new fighter leapt into the air and pursued Bill's.

"I'll miss my old craft, but this ship is rather comfortable and handles like a dream," said Katt.

"Enough of this.  We've got to get out of here.  Where should we go?" asked Bill.

"Zoness?" asked Katt.

"No.  It's too obvious.  How about that floating military/science barge on Aquas?  I think that would probably be for the best.  From there we'll be able to contact Pepper and assess the situation," said Bill.

"Fine, let's go," said Katt.  Their fighters leapt into space and blasted into warp.

Sector Z: One of Dan's various supply depots/bases of operations was hidden among the wreckage.  Dan was sipping some coffee in the command center when a freighter emerged from warp.

"Jake, is that you?" asked Dan.

"Yep.  How about allowing me a place to dock," said Jake.

"Port 12," said Dan.  Jake brought his freighter around the base and docked on a pylon stretching out from the base.  Jake disembarked and headed for the command center.  When he arrived he headed for Dan's office.

"Jake, what's up?" asked Dan.  Jake sat down in a chair in front of Dan's desk.

"Oh not to much.  I'm just here for some inventory," said Jake chucking a palm pilot, which contained a list of what he needed to Dan.  Dan took it, glanced it over, and slid it into a nearby slot in his desk.

"It's being processed now.  So, last I heard you were going to see if those monk's on Macbeth's sixth moon needed any supplies," said Dan.  Jake shrugged.

"They said they didn't need any at the moment so I didn't go.  I delivered some supplies elsewhere," said Jake.

"Oh," said Dan.  Suddenly alarms started blaring all over the base.  Jake and Dan rushed out into the main command deck and watched a bright light fill the viewscreen.

"What is it?" asked Jake.

"Unknown," said a technician.  Then they watched as a massive spaceship was thrown out of the light and then the light disappeared.  The ship drifted by the spacestation.

"Quick!  Tractor beam!" exclaimed Dan.  A blue beam grabbed a hold of the cruiser and reeled it in.

"C'mon Jake, let's see what's up," said Dan.  The two of them rushed through the station headed for the mysterious cruiser.

Aquas: A large military/science base stood floating above the water.  It looked basically like a long slab on top of the water, but it extended several a couple of miles under the water.  Everywhere, alarms were blaring.  On the bridge, Gen. Powell was checking the data.

"No doubt about it, it is definitely a WolfenII accompanied by a CDF fighter headed right of us," he said.

"Sir, is this really a cause for alert?" asked Commander Bob Ross.  Powell looked at him.

"Of course it is!  You know how much sensitive equipment we have here.  If this base is either captured or sunk, the damage would be incredible," said Powell.  Bob nodded.

"Alright.  What should we do?" asked Bob.  Powell considered the options.

"Launch two squads.  I want those fighters brought down to the deck and I want a couple security detachments to be present to apprehend these criminals," said Powell.

"Aren't you being a little bit too judgmental?  I mean how do you know they aren't friendly?" asked Bob.

"Two things.  A, that's a WolfenII and they were only used by the Star Wolf team.  B, they haven't issued any radio communications with us.  I'm being reasonable by not having them shot down over the ocean," said Powell.  Bob shrugged and went off to make the arrangements.  A moment later, thirty fighters had been launched from the base.

Aquas atmosphere: "Don't be surprised if we don't receive a warm welcome," said Bill.

"Why not?" asked Katt.  Their two fighters skimmed over the water of Aquas.

"Because you're in a WolfenII and my long range transmitter is history.  If I were any sane general in control of the military base where we're headed, and there was a WolfenII and a CDF fighter headed for my base with no communications, I'd be suspicious," said Bill.  Then out of the clouds, thirty fighters appeared and held up a flanking position with them.

"Attention unidentified starfighters, this is Commander Bob Ross of the CDF attachment to the military base _Infinities_.  Identify yourself," said Bob.

"Bob!  It's me Bill Grey!" said Bill.

"Bill?  Then who's in the Wolfen?" he asked.

"I'm Katt Monroe, independent contractor of the CDF," said Katt.

"Okay.  Unfortunately you'll have to both be taken into custody until we can ascertain what you're doing out here.  Sorry guys, orders," said Bob.

"Nothing you can do about it.  Orders are orders," responded Bill.  The fighters proceeded to the base and landed on the deck.  Bill and Katt disembarked and faced the security detail.

"Give them your blaster," said Bill to Katt.  They both removed their blasters and slid them across the wet deck.  The detail picked them up and Powell emerged onto the deck.

"Oh it's you Bill and Katt.  I'm afraid you'll still have to be detained.  However you'll be released just as soon as your presence here can be explained.  Who should we contact?" asked Powell.

"Pepper," said Bill simply.  Powell nodded.

"I'll change the procedure to have you confined to some quarters instead of the cells," said Powell.

"Thanks," said Bill.  They then proceeded inside the base accompanied by the security detachment with their blasters in their holsters and not pointed at Bill and Katt.

Sector Z, hours later: "Interesting design for a dreadnought," said Dan.  They had spent the past few hours sorting through every system on the ship.  They couldn't reactive the Rob unit because it was locked down with a passcode.

"The Star Fox team design it well didn't they," said Jake.

"That they did," said Dan.  His comlink started beeping.

"Dan,"

"This is control, we've got an Arwing approaching, it wants access to the main bay of the Great Fox.  The message said that it's important," said a voice on the other end of the comm.

"Fine.  Let them in but monitor the situation and have security on alert," said Dan.  He motioned to Jake and they two of them proceeded down to the main bay.  The ship was pretty much deserted since only a few technicians remained trying to recover any data at all from the ships scanners.  Jake and Dan entered the bay just as the Arwing landed.  The canopy opened and the pilot hopped out.  He removed his helmet revealing a fox with shades.

"Star Fox?" asked Dan.  The fox shook his head.

"The name's James.  I was assigned by the CDF to locate the Star Fox team and my search led me here to the Great Fox," said James.

"The CDF!" exclaimed Dan and Jake.  They pulled out there blasters and pointed them at James.

"Okay buddy listen up.  The CDF is not tolerated here.  I won't allow them to disrupt my operations.  I'm afraid you'll have to leave," said Dan who had blasters in both hands.  James held up his hands.

"I'm not here to disrupt anything.  More is going on here than meets the eye.  You have to believe me when I say that the whole system might be at stake based on the decisions that we make on these decisions right now," said James.  Dan and Bill thought about it.

_"Here's very wise for being a dead Lylatian,"_ said the teacher.

_"Dead?"_ asked the student.

_"You'll understand later,"_ said the teacher.

"Okay.  I'll believe you for now," said Dan pulling out his comlink "Any sign of tracking systems on his fighter?"

"Nope," came the response.

"Fine then.  I'll let you stay for a little while.  What do you mean by there's more here than meets the eye?" asked Dan.

"You know who the Star Fox team is don't you?" asked James.  Jake chuckled.

"Who doesn't?  They saved us from Andross three years ago," he said.

"Right.  Now doesn't it strike you as odd that somehow, within the past few days they've disappeared extremely quickly?  A team with such skill doesn't disappear with zero traces of where they went.  I believe that they were kidnapped.  That is why I need your help," said James.

"Forget it," said Dan.

"Yeah," said Jake.

"What?  Why not?" demanded James.

"I'm not going on any wild goose chase to locate members of someone affiliated with the CDF.  It's not worth it.  And what if we do find them.  I'll be thrown in jail for some of my less than legit transactions.  I request that you leave and if you want the Great Fox then fine take it," said Dan.  James sighed.

"What if I were to report this installation to the CDF?" asked James.  Dan laughed.

"Even if you were to report this base, there's a high probability that your report would 'mysteriously' disappear and never be seen again.  Should a CDF fleet be sent out here, this base would be gone and there will be no trace of it ever being here at all," said Dan.  James turned to Jake.

"What about you?" he asked.  Jake shrugged his head.

"I have enough problems with the CDF as it is.  I would never go let myself go legit and I'd be furious at myself if I did," said Jake.

"Fine, then I'm leaving and taking this ship with me," said James.  Dan stepped back.

"It's all yours," he said.  Then Dan and Jake disembarked from the craft and James paced furiously before slamming his hand against a wall of the hanger.

"Those fools!  Can't they see what's at stake here!" he exclaimed.  James then stood up and walked up towards the bridge.  Dan's technicians had also pulled out, but they had managed to reactive the Rob unit.  Rob looked at James when he entered.

"Passcode?" asked Rob.  James looked at him.

"James01, execute," he said.  Rob processed the code and looked back at James.

"Welcome James McCloud to the Great Fox," said Rob.

"Power up and blasts off," said James.  Rob complied and a moment later the Great Fox had cleared itself from the base.

"Set coordinates for Solar," said James.  The Great Fox leapt into warp.

"I'll be down in my quarters getting some sleep.  Wake me when we arrive," said James.  Rob nodded.  James exited the bridge and went down to his quarters and a few minutes later he was asleep.

Aquas: "What's up Powell?" asked Pepper over the vidcom.

"Two of your agents showed up on my doorstep and I need clearance to release them from custody.  They are Katt Monroe and Bill Grey," said Powell.

"Let them go immediately!  I need to see them now," said Pepper.  Powell signaled to his aide who nodded and ran off.

"What's going on Pepper?  Is there something I should know about?" asked Powell.

"I'm sorry but it's classified.  I'm one of only a few generals who were briefed on the situation," said Pepper.

"Why can't you tell me?" asked Powell.

"I can't.  You'll just have to accept it," said Pepper.

"Pepper," said Powell.  Suddenly the screen flickered showing a different animal.

"He can't tell you.  I'll inform you when you get back to Corneria," said The President.

"Sorry sir," said Powell.  The image flickered back to Pepper.  Powell thought about what to say when Bill and Katt entered.  Powell stood up and left the room so they could be alone with Pepper.

"Did you find anything?" asked Pepper.  Bill and Katt solemnly shook their heads.

"All we know is that somehow Venomians are involved," said Katt.

"How do you know that?" asked Pepper.

"When we arrived on Macbeth's sixth moon, we learned that he had visited a monastery.  When we there, at least a dozen Venomian fighters converged on the monastery and opened fire on us.  One of the Venomians was a certain Leon Powalski.  We stole his ship, but it contained no information and where it had come from.  We've essentially got no leads whatsoever.  We're sorry Pepper," said Bill.

"Fine.  I know the best that you could have.  Prepare to return to Corneria," said Pepper.  Bill and Katt nodded their heads.

"We'll arrive as soon as we can," said Bill.  They shutoff the comlink and exited the room where Powell joined them.

"We want our fighters back.  We've been recalled to Corneria," said Bill.

"Fine.  Your fighters will be returned to you.  Can we keep the WolfenII?" asked Powell.  Katt shook her head.

"I think that it would be better off on Corneria don't you think?" she asked.  Powell sighed.

"Yes, you probably are correct.  Have a good trip," said Powell.  Bill and Katt went onto the command deck, entered their fighters, and blasted off.  A moment later they had entered warp.

Sector X: "Our contacts in the CDF inform us that the two creatures in charge of locating the Star Fox team have found nothing and are returning to Corneria as we speak," said Pigma.  Wolf nodded.  He, Leon, and Pigma were in a lightly traveled in corridor.

"Good," he said.  Wolf then whirled around and glared at Leon.

"You have no idea how screwed we could have been had I not had the foresight to erase your navigation banks before you departed.  How could you loose a WolfenII?!" demanded Wolf.

"Bill Grey had a device with him that was designed by the CDF to attach itself to any enemy fighter and disable it.  He forced me down and his cohort knocked my unconscious," Leon growled back.

"Fine.  If you want a WolfenII again, you'll have to steal it from the CDF but just be grateful that those idiots in the CDF decided not to capture you.  Based on your stupidity, I don't know if I would've bothered with your rescue.  Insolence," said Wolf shaking his head.  He then walked off to the hanger bay.  Leon growled again.

"Ease down buddy, he's just showing he cares," said Pigma.

"Whatever," said Leon storming off down the corridor.  Pigma sighed and walked towards his quarters.

Solar: The Great Fox blasted out of warp and entered into a low orbit over the molten surface of Solar.  James furiously paced back and forth in the hanger bay while Rob watched him.

"There must be some clue as to where they went," said James.

"I am sorry, but my memory banks and backups were all erased," said Rob sympathetically.

"It's not your fault," said James.  James continued pacing for the next few hours when he noticed a strange particle trail ahead of them.

"Rob, are we still on the same orbit.  Have you made no course corrections?" asked James.  Rob shook his head.

"None,"

"Then what's that?" asked James pointing ahead of them to the trail.  Rob walked over to a nearby console and activated it.

"Whatever it is, we seem to be making quite a long trail of it," said Rob.  A screen showed dozens of particles falling off the rear of the Great Fox and floating behind them.

"Rob, obtain some samples and analyze them.  I'm curious as to what they are," said James.  A panel opened on the front of the ship and drew in the particles.  The scanners worked for a few minutes before determining their content.

"Veteron Particles," said Rob.  James look confused.

"I'm not sure what they are," he said.  Rob turned to face him.

"Veteron particles are a form of neutron and neutrino particles.  While neutron and neutrinos and aren't dangerous, veteron particles are deadly.  Verteron particles are not really public knowledge due to their destructive properties.  They've even made people belief that neutrinos can be responsible for crop destruction since they're very difficult to trace if you're not specifically looking for them.  They have no actual use and thus are not important to everyday life.  However, they are associated with…," said Rob.

"What?  What are they associated with?" demanded James.  Rob looked at him confused.

"I'm not sure.  I thought I knew and now I don't.  I think it's a memory block related to the use of Verteron particles," said Rob.  James performed a quick diagnostic on Rob.

"Yeah there is a block.  Okay, we can't learn anything about verteron particles, but what about neutrinos, anything on them?" asked James.  Rob scanned his memory.

"Primary concentration on Venom," responded Rob.

"How about Veteron Particles?" asked James.

"What do you mean?" asked Rob.

"A pure Veteron particle, has it ever been detecting anywhere?" asked James.  Rob sighed.

"One has been found hasn't it," said James.

"The knowledge is extremely classified.  Pepper only gave it to the Star Fox team for their own safety," said Rob.  James put his hand on Rob's shoulder.

"Rob, I was part of the Star Fox team.  You've got to trust me," said James.

"Okay.  A single veteron particle was located on a survey mission inside Sector Z's nebula a long time ago.  The particle was discovered and brought back to Corneria where it was immediately seized by the military when it was revealed it could create a wormhole," said Rob.

"A wormhole?  Rob, you've just managed to inadvertently and tactfully avoid your memory block but provide me with the answer," said James.

"How?" Rob asked.

"Wormhole my friend, wormhole.  Rob, set course for Meteo," said James.

"Roger that.  Although, the ship disappeared near Macbeth, how could that help us?" asked Rob.

"I need to learn more about the wormhole phenomena.  The more I know the sooner I can come to discover where the team is," said James.  Rob nodded and the Great Fox left Solar and zoomed into warp.

Venom: A dozen freighters were located around a central mining station where being loaded with neutron particles.

"Why so many?" asked Pigma.  Dozens of Garudas where hauling large containers of Neutron particles into the various freighters.

"It's because in every neutron particle there is only a small portion of veteron particles.  We need a considerable amount to even attempt to alter the course of the wormhole as much as pure veteron particles," said Leon.

"You lost me on that one," said Pigma.  Leon shook his head.

"It's not important," said Leon.  The final Garudas rolled into their freighters and the staff pulled out of the building.  Leon pulled out a device from his pocket, pressed it, and the whole building exploded.

"Let's go before the CDF arrives," said Leon rushing back to the freighters followed by Pigma.  A moment later they blasted off and flew across the desert.  They passed over a derelict prison facility before blasting off into outer space.

"Here's to you friends," said Andrew watching the freighters fly off into space.  He produced a bottle of wine, poured himself a glass, and downed it as the last of the freighters left Venom.  Andrew sighed and walked back inside the prison from the courtyard.  He walked to the decontamination facility where hundreds of bottles of Viral Weapon X-7 where being developed.

"_If you fail, I'll take up where you left off,_" thought Andrew before turning in for the night.

Corneria: "You did you best.  Remember, we gave you almost no leads to go on and you did what you could," said Pepper.  Pepper, Bill, Katt, and Mr. President were on a balcony of the CDF HQ looking out at Corneria City.

"What will we do when a new menace comes to attack Corneria?  What will we say when the Star Fox team doesn't show up?  The people will regard them as traitors, not hero's," said Katt.

"We'll have to come up with something," said Mr. President.  An awkward silence came over them as they thought about what to do.  Bill ended it by slamming his fist hard against the armrest against his chair.

"This is wrong.  We can't relax now.  The Star Fox team may be in grave danger and we can't sit by and do nothing," he said angrily.

"Calm down.  You forget that I lost a Star Fox team too.  They were my dearest friends and now they're gone.  I won't allow this to sit either.  I'm organizing a larger task force to search for the team in a few days.  You and Katt can join it if you want," said Pepper.

"I know that I will," said Bill.  Katt shrugged.

"I kinda have to go back to Zoness.  I'm an integral part of the cleanup operation and I have to return.  Sorry," said Katt.  Bill shrugged.

"It's not your problem," he said.  Pepper nodded.

"I'll let you keep the WolfenII until we reacquire your old ship," said Pepper.

"Thanks," said Katt.  They all continued watching Corneria City in front of them.

"I feel a shadow has passed over Lylat, one that we cannot escape," said Mr. President.

"I agree sir," said Pepper.  They all imagined Corneria ruled under an iron fist by a dictator.

"We can't let that happen," said Bill.

"We won't," said Mr. President.  Bill stood up and left leaving the rest to their thoughts.

Sector X: "Here they come," said a technician.  Wolf looked out at a screen showing the freighters and their escorts arriving at Sector X.

"Good.  Make sure they know what to do in regards to the wormhole," said Wolf.  The technician nodded and went back to work.  Wolf then proceeded to his battlecruiser.  As he entered the bridge, he keyed the other ships.

"The Cornerians are unprepared for our attack.  They can't even begin to understand what we've accomplished here.  As of today we are now the rulers of Lylat.  Go boldly," said Wolf.  He saw the freighters pumping the neutron particles into the four warp gates.

"Sir, the prisoners have been brought aboard and the freighters have done their job," said a technician.  Wolf nodded.

"Proceed," said Wolf.  The freighters began passing through the four warp gates and into warp.

"Nothing can stop us now," he said.  From his fighter, Greg Parlow watched as the various enemy vehicles entered warp.  Greg sighed as the fleet he was assigned to, prepared to enter warp.  Greg looked out at the surrounding space and hoped against hope that some CDF forces would arrive and say they'd warned Corneria about the impending invasion.  None came and Greg shed a tear, as he knew that Corneria would never survive a sneak assault on the capitol.  Then Greg's fighter entered the wormhole.

Meteo: The Great Fox hovered before the blue rings that provided entrance to the wormhole.

"I feel we're wasting our time here," said Rob.  James looked at him from the sensor station.

"Nonsense.  We're learning enough information to learn where a wormhole will open.  I think that's enough information.  Now Rob, use this data to predict where a wormhole is at the moment.  Like the one this ship traveled through," said James.  Rob shrugged.

"Okay here goes.  According to our computer model, a wormhole will open in about six minutes Corneria," said Rob simply.  James laughed nervously.

"You're joking," he said.

"Nope.  That's what the layout says.  A wormhole stretching from Sector X to Sector Z has been drastically altered by the gravitational forces of Solar allowing it to now stretch to Corneria," said Rob.

"Who would do that?  It's pointless," said James.  Rob shrugged.

"Not if you were part of an invasion force.  If you came to Corneria via conventional means you'd already have been detected.  A ship inside a wormhole can't since it is sort of in an alternate dimension.  But like I said, it's only a model," said Rob.  James nervously considered what was happening.

"Can we use this wormhole to link up to the other one from Sector X?" asked James.

"No because this one only stretches to Katina.  Even if it did stretch to Aquas, it wouldn't matter because space is three-dimensional.  This wormhole could easily pass underneath the other one and we'd have no way of linking up with it.  You're out of luck there," said Rob shrugging.

"We've got to get to Corneria now," said James.  Rob shrugged and the engines powered up heading through the asteroids towards Corneria.

"It's going to take awhile because we're on the exact opposite end of the belt.  We won't get there until after the wormhole opens," said Rob.

"Can we alert Corneria?" James asked.

"Nope.  The asteroids would distort the signal and the same would be true if we tried to contact Katina.  We're screwed," said Rob nonchalantly.

"Yeah, yeah.  Just get us there," said James.  Rob walked off up to the bridge where he'd have better control over the ship.  James sighed knowing what was to come, a battle for Corneria.  Then he too headed for the bridge.

Sector Z: "I think we should've helped that CDF person," said Jake.  He and Dan were in a mess hall on Dan's spacestation.

"It wasn't up to us to intervene.  We're better off without helping him.  Don't worry, the Cornerian government can't be overthrown," said Dan sipping his drink.

"I still don't know.  I'll try and locate him in a few months and say sorry," said Jake.  Dan shrugged.

"Fine by me," he said.  Then alarms started blaring all over the base.  A technician ran up to them.

"What's up?" asked Dan.

"A wormhole has opened above Corneria and enemy vessels are pouring out and attacking Corneria," said the aide.  Jake and Dan ran for the command center to witness the events.

Corneria, a few minutes earlier: "Looks like another boring day," said Cmdr. Krane.

"Yeah well it's for the best this way," said Lt. Grand.  Their squadron flew over Corneria on a routine patrol.  Krane's sensor beeped.

"Are you detecting a massive energy spike?" asked Krane.

"Yes I am," said Grand.

"From what?" another pilot asked.  Then a bright light filled their canopies as an enemy warship emerged from the wormhole.

"Alert Corn," began Grand before the enemy warship obliterated him and his entire squadron.

Warship: "Excellent, our first kill of the day.  Let's hope it's not the last," said Wolf.  He looked around at Corneria and saw no massive battlefleet waiting for them.

"They've been caught totally unprepared.  Bring in the rest of the fleet," said Wolf.  Dozens of warships and hundreds of fighter poured out of the wormhole and towards the surface below.

"I want all orbital platforms obliterated now.  Military or not they're a threat to our task force.  I want those fighters assigned to key targets to quickly dispose of them.  We can't afford any hitches to our plan," said Wolf.

"Roger that," said the technician.

Corneria surface: Air-raid sirens went off as dozens of fighters began relentlessly hammering the buildings below.  Dozens of buildings exploded beneath the relentless pounding of the Venomian units.  Bill and Katt rushed out of the CDF building and saw the fighters soar overhead towards the airfield.

"C'mon let's go," said Bill jumping into a CDF landspeeder.  Katt jumped in also as Bill slammed on the gas.  The speeder lurched forward and down a road designed by the CDF to link the building to the airfield.  They saw fires on the horizon as buildings burst into flame.  Some CDF fighters appeared in the sky but the enemy forces already in the sky vastly outnumbered them.  As they zoomed onto the airfield, they saw a Granga firing missiles and laser blasts at the fighters scattered all over the airfield.  Several pilots were mowed down but its shots or crushed by its feet as they headed for their fighters.  Then a shadow fell over the field as an attack carrier appeared and began systematically eliminating every fighter leaving the base.  Bill drove right through the unmanned gates of the base and zoomed onto the field headed for their fighters.  They zoomed over craters littering the runway as Bill slammed on the brakes and stopped before their fighters.  Bill and Katt entered their fighters, and blasted away.

"This is Cmdr. Bill Grey, who's in charge here?" asked Bill.  A small unit of fighters took up a flanking position.

"This is Cmdr. Hutch.  My fleet was doing routine maneuvers above Corneria City when the enemy first started showing up.  Half of my squad was obliterated from the first wave.  We've been fighting a loosing battle ever since.  What should we do?" asked Hutch.  Bill pointed their squad towards the attack carrier.

"The Granga's no problem but we've got to take out that carrier.  It can shoot out any fighters we put into the air," said Bill.  As if to prove the point a missile flew out of the carrier and obliterated a fighter lifting off from the base.

"C'mon.  Let's rock and roll," said Bill.  Their fighters made a couple of runs on the cruiser but it was to no avail.

"We need an attack strategy.  I wish Peppy was here," said Bill.

"Speaking of which, where are the Star Fox team?" asked Hutch.

"Umm.  They're probably undercover right now on a Venomian cruiser sabotaging it," said Bill quickly.

"Okay," said Hutch.  They flew right behind the cruiser and opened fire again.  The laser blasts had no effect and this time a wave of Venomian fighters had appeared.  The squad scattered as two enemy fighters took them on.  However, Katt's WolfenII seemed to not be able to draw attention.

"Katt go and take out that carrier.  If we can't destroy it, maybe we can stop its offensive capabilities," said Bill.

"Right," said Katt.  Her fighter peeled off while Bill's squad dealt with the fighters.  Katt noticed that while the fighters could fend off the missiles, they couldn't fend off any fighters launched from the carrier.  So she waited until the door opened and she blasted it until the bay caught on fire.  The defensive system, which should have released the bay from the ship, failed and the bay exploded taking the carrier with it.

"Yes," she said.  However the wreckage slammed into the airfield destroying even more fighters.

"No," she said.  Bill's fighter zoomed by with three enemies on his tail.

"Take out that Granga!" shouted Bill.  He pulled a few tight turns while trying to avoid the enemy fighters.  Katt dove her ship towards the ground while a couple enemy fighters came onto her tail.  She blasted through a hanger and suddenly saw the Granga in front of her.  She closed her eyes as she flew under it.  The opposing fighters slammed into the robots legs causing it to drop face down.  She flew off and rejoined Bill's squadron as more enemy fighters descended on Corneria City.  In the distance laserfire was seen over Coastal City.

"Okay I'll take half the squad and back up those in Coastal City.  Katt, you take your half and head towards the interior of Corneria City," said Bill peeling off with six other fighters.  Katt nodded and spun off as well.

Corneria City: Explosions rocked the entire city as people fled for their lives.  The weakened CDF set up defense positions on several platforms.  On a hotel, a group of CDF commandos had set up a defensive position and were firing on various enemy fighters.

"This is Gen. Hendrickson to all defensive posts.  I want you fire at aerial units only.  We have units on the ground ready to deal with them," Hendrickson said from the roof.  She activated a blaster cannon and began blasting away at nearby fighters.  A building nearby exploded as a Garuda drove right through it and started rolling towards a CDF ground blockade.  The laser flew from both sides and several soldiers were slaughtered before the robot was destroyed.  Hendrickson returned her returned her thoughts to the battle only to see an enemy fighter on fire careen out of control slam onto the roof and explode taking her and the soldiers with it.  The building then proceeded to explode raining debris on the fleeing populous below.  On the ground, Colonel Sanders, a chicken, watched the building explode.  The debris killed several people below as more enemy fighters soared overhead firing on various buildings.

"Where's artillery?" he asked over a radio.

"It probably isn't coming at all.  You'd better be prepared for a long haul," came the response.  Sanders growled as another fighter on fire slammed into the pavement flinging debris everywhere.

"Looks like we're on our own," said Sanders to his men.  They all groaned as a shadow fell over them.  They looked up to see a pair of Dorisby fly overhead firing at various buildings.

"_Not good, not good.  I hope the battle in space is better off,_" thought Sanders.

Space: Another section of the CDF docks exploded as the entire Venomian fleet bore down on it.

"Excellent.  Make sure nothing escapes unharmed," said Wolf.  An alarm went off.  Wolf looked at Pigma.

"Five enemy cruisers and about two dozen fighters have emerged from warp.  I think they're from Katina," said Pigma.  Wolf shrugged.

"Send the appropriate ships to deal with it," said Wolf.  Pigma nodded and part of the attack force veered away to deal with the threat.  Wolf looked with interest as a cruiser attempted to leave the dock and was immediately destroyed.

"This is too much fun," said Wolf laughing.  A Venomian battlecruiser that was attacking the CDF fleet, exploded behind them.

"A damaged CDF cruiser just performed a kamikaze act," said a technician quickly.  Wolf shrugged.

"We're still on schedule and still have enough forces.  We should be fine.  Is the image being broadcasted to the prisoners?" asked Wolf.  Leon nodded.  Wolf leaned back in his chair wondering their horror at the destruction caused by Wolf's fleet.

"_Let the Star Fox team observe my triumphant moment.  It serves them right for ever resisting me,_" thought Wolf.  Another section of the dock exploded as the rate of fire increased from the enemy fleet.  At that moment however the Great Fox emerged from warp.

"What?" Wolf demanded.  The Great Fox began destroying various enemy cruisers in space.

"I won't stand for this.  Deploy it now!" exclaimed Wolf.  A gigantic blast flew out of nowhere and obliterated the Great Fox.

"I don't know who was in control of that but they should know better than to face me," said Wolf.  In space, James body began flickering from existence.

"_My son I've failed you,_" thought James.  Then his body vanished from the universe forever.

Coastal City: Several tanks were on the coastline exchanging fire with a sarumarine as it blasted the coastal hotels with its bombs.  Several tanks were destroyed as their blasts merely dented the armor on the gigantic submarine.  Katt's squad flew over the city exchanging fire with the enemy fighters.

"We're vastly outnumbered I know, but we must allow those civilians enough time to escape," said Katt.  The highways were jammed packed with people trying to flee the battle zone, but by being there they were easy pickings for the Venomian Fighters.

"We've got to protect those civvies," said Katt.  Their fighters plunged towards the highway but some of them were destroyed by enemy fire causing them to plunge to the surface damaging buildings and killing more civilians.

"We've got to stop doing damage ourselves.  We'll be helping no one if we're dead," said Katt. Katt and her three remaining pilots opened fire on the enemy.  However for every fighter shot down, a dozen took its place.

"We're fighting a loosing battle," said Hutch.

"We can't retreat now.  We're providing the troops with moral support," said Katt.

"What troops?  Any left are dead by now.  Coastal City is gone.  We must support Corneria City," said Hutch.  Katt looked down and didn't see any laser blasts going on.  The whole city was pretty much devoid of troops.  Several places showed last stands but the troops defending the posts were gone.  They were either dead or had deserted their posts.  More fighters appeared and a Saruzin class warship, which launched a dozen Shogun robots to round up the populous, accompanied them.  Katt knew that ship could launch a lot more.

"This is wrong, all wrong," she said.

"There's nothing we can do.  It was too late to defend Coastal City.  Once we save Corneria City we'll be fine," said Hutch.  He swung his fighter away and the other two fighters accompanied him.  Katt looked out one last time and saw the final tank fighting the sarumarine explode from laser fire.  She closed her eyes for a moment and then flew away.  Down below the Shoguns had rounded up the remaining civilians and soldiers who hadn't fled the city.  They all sat in the town square and were promptly slaughtered by the shoguns.  Who flew off back to the Saruzin and it flew off towards Corneria City.

Space: A sparse fifteen fighters remained, half from Husky Squadron and half from Bulldog squadron.

"Not good.  Not good," said Lt. Bob O. or Bobo as his friends like to call him.

"Yeah Bobbo.  Where do you suppose Bill is?" asked Johnny.

"I don't know but we can't keep this up much longer.  We've accomplished nothing out here.  We'll have to regroup with any other squadrons left in this system," said Bobo.

"Right," said Johnny.  Surprisingly all the fighters pulled back and a lone original Wolfen appeared.

"How do you pilots.  My name is Wolf O'Donnell or should I say Star Wolf.  I'm willing to take you all on at once.  Unless you're afraid," said Wolf.

"Enough talk.  Let's see how well you fly," said Bobo.  The fifteen remaining fighters zoomed straight at Wolf who ducked and dived to avoid them.  He picked off the amateur pilots with ease and was left to concentrate on five remaining pilots.  He picked off three of them until only two remained, Bobo and Johnny.

"You're pretty good, but I've flown against the Star Fox team.  Try your best," said Wolf.

"Johnny, we've got to work together.  If we don't he'll do us both.  Let's go.  Maneuver 01A go," said Bobo.  Johnny nodded and the two tried a pincer maneuver, which failed.

"You're good, but I'm better," said Wolf.  He performed a tight barrel roll and spun behind Johnny's fighter and fired.  Johnny's fighter was vaporized in the resulting explosion.

"That was…challenging," said Wolf sarcastically.

"You'll pay for what you've done!" exclaimed Bobo.  He flew straight at Wolf's fighter on an impact course.  However moments before he reached Wolf a Harlock Class cruiser popped off a shot and obliterated his fighter.

"You don't play fair, neither do I," said Wolf returning to his Zeram Class cruiser.  The cruiser moved on with the rest of the fleet towards the Space Dynamics Co., Ltd. Docks.

Corneria City: "Heads up three from above," said Bill.  He and his new squad had been skimming the ground and trying to avoid any enemy fighters who tried to get to them.

"Roger that," said another pilot.  Bill and the four other remaining fighters split up and proceeded down different roadways.  Two CDF fighters were blasted out of the sky the remaining continued to be chased through the streets.  The remaining fighters were blasted out of the sky.  Bill managed to ditch his pursuer and he flew up above the skyline and regrouped with Katt and Hutch.  They watched as a dozen heavy cruisers appeared on the horizon.

"It's over," said Katt.

"It's not over until it's over," said Bill defiantly.  A lone Wolfen appeared right in front of them.

"It is over," said Wolf.  Bill, Katt, and Hutch watched in horror as a shimmering effect took place behind Wolf.  A Gorgon appeared out of thin air.  The Gorgon raised its outer shell and fired obliterating Katt, Bill, Hutch, and all of Corneria City.

"Now we have complete control!" exclaimed Wolf.  The teacher shut off the screen.

_"To make a long story short, Wolf and the Venomians gained complete and total control of the Lylat System.  All because of five words and the enemy took control.  Now I present you with a choice my student.  Do you choose a life of tyranny and oppression or one of freedom?"_ asked the teacher.

_"No contest.  Freedom,"_ said the student confidently.  The teacher held up his hand.

_"But at what cost?"_ the teacher asked.

_"I don't understand,"_ said the student.

_"Then let me show you.  In the universe you choose, Katt, Bill, Dan, and Jake did save the universe, and the Star Fox team.  However a few days later a Venomian bomb exploded in a nearby quarry.  The bomb released a deadly bio-weapon named Mantia.  Mantia proceeded to attack various planets in the Lylat System.  He was finally stopped by the destruction of Sector Z.  However it was that destruction that caused a system wide war years later when food sources disappeared due to particles from the nebula.  Mantia later returned and blew up the Lylat System.  Let's not forget about Andrew either.  When the invasion failed he released X-7 and then his hologram did also, all this for your precious freedom.  But what if this sequence of events occurred?  Since the Venomians won, no one ventured near the quarry.  Mantia died in the quarry years later due to excessive bleeding.  Since Mantia didn't escape, Sector Z never exploded.  The war never happened and billions were saved.  Mantia didn't get the chance to blow up the Lylat System and Viral Weapon X-7.  So I give you your choice again.  Freedom which could kill you and all of your descendants, or oppression where you and your family will see the light of day for thousands of years?  It isn't an easy choice,"_ said the teacher.  The student thought about it for a long while.

_"I don't know,"_ said the student.  The teacher nodded.

_"And that proves just how things can be radically changed for better or worse.  Being what we are is both a gift and a curse.  You might have caused Amup to say no to Jake by replacing the bulbs yourself out of goodwill but inadvertently doom this system to live under oppression yet not destruction,"_ said the teacher.

_"Show me more,"_ said the student.  The teacher nodded.

_"Where shall I start?  Ah yes.  It begins a long time ago with a creature called Mantia..,"_ began the teacher as the student listened intently.

Infinites: The Legend of Mantia Part II coming coon.


	2. The Legend of Mantia: Part Two, The War

_"Mantia?"_ asked the student.

"Yes.  Mantia.  Mantia was designed by a brilliant but insane scientist to be the most powerful bio-weapon ever created.  It was Andross' greatest success and it helped him gain his horrible reputation.  The creature had enormous power and was one of only a few creatures ever to try and return to try and conquer the Lylat System again.  It defied all odds when it returned after being blasted away by the destruction of Sector Z.  Of course the destruction of the nebula caused the war and led to disarray among the system.  Mantia returned when the system was on the verge of collapse and was barely defeated by the Star Fox team.  Mantia however got in the last blow by destroying the sun causing the whole system to explode at the cost of its life.  No one survived the ensuing wave of energy and that's why I'm here to show you how things might have changed if…" began the teacher. 

_"If Mantia was good and not bad?"_ suggested the student.  The teacher burst out laughing.

_"What?"_ the student demanded.  The teacher wiped away a tear because he'd been laughing so hard.

_"Because it's not possible.  Mantia can't be good.  It's impossible to predict what might happen if he was because it's too preposterous to consider.  A good laugh if I do say so myself.  If Mantia were good, the whole universe would destabilize.  Mantia is one of only seven constant factors in any reality where this creature should exist.  This system should be lucky.  Their backwards yet the produced a temporal anchor.  Anyway, no I wasn't going to show you how Mantia was good.  I'm going to show you how one life can make a difference even if it doesn't seem that way at first.  Although this decision will be tougher than your previous one, I trust you will make it according to your heart.  It all begins near the end of Mantia's second raid on the Lylat System.  Mantia was essentially a cyborg at this point however he still wanted control of the Lylat System.  He met some resistance over Macbeth by part of the Star Fox team and here's where our story begins,"_ said the teacher activating the monitor.

Infinities: The Legend of Mantia: Part Two, The War 

Macbeth: Dan's freighter exited warp above the planet and Slippy and Peppy flew off. On the surface of the planet there were several small flashes of light.

"What's going on down there?" asked Peppy.

"Apparently Mantia decided to not leave the planet as quickly and is attacking the planet. Mantia also decided to bring a nice present along, a giant crab. The crab is currently attacking Space Dynamics Co., Ltd.," said the sensor operator on the freighter.

"Let's go," said Slippy. The two fighters sped towards the surface at maximum speed while the freighter mad preparations to enter warp.

"Handles like our Arwings," said Peppy.

"Its control figurations are also similar," said Slippy. Ahead of them they saw the large crab battling several laser equipped mining drones. Behind the crab was a demolished train that had run into the bio-weapon.

"Let's lock and load Slippy," said Peppy. Their two fighters zoomed down firing at the crab. The crab roared in defiance at the two fighters before continuing to destroy the large production facility with its claws.

"We've got to stop it," said Slippy.

"But how are we going to, it's too tough," said Peppy. Their fighters zoomed around and made another pass on the creature.

"It's moving rather slowly," said Slippy. Then, all of a sudden their collision alarms went off. Both ships jerked to the side as Mantia flew by.

"This ends now!" yelled Peppy. He fired a bomb that exploded on top of Mantia. The bomb hardly fazed Mantia as it keep flying onwards. Two laser cannons emerged from its wings and fired on the production facility.

"How do you feel when being so helpless?" asked Mantia. Peppy roared in anger and zoomed after Mantia.

"You're not escaping this time! I'll die before you leave this planet," said Peppy.

"If that's how it's going to be, then that's how it's going to be. Prepare to die," said Mantia arcing around to face the fighters. Peppy just slammed on the engines with no regrets. Slippy fell in behind him and together the two zoomed towards Mantia.

"What are you doing?" asked Peppy.

"What has to be done, we're going to slam into this menace together and hopefully it will die from our explosions," said Slippy. Slippy just zoomed ahead of Peppy towards Mantia who was approaching with guns blazing. Then Slippy slammed his ship into Mantia causing the fighter to explode in front of Mantia.  Peppy follow right after him and slammed into Mantia as well.  Mantia roared out loud in pain as its whole body caught on fire.  Mantia fell into a local river causing water to rush up on the banks. Some of the mining drones rolled up to the river and scanned the river hoping that they could lock onto something. Suddenly energy crackled beneath the surface of the water and huge bolts of electricity flew out destroying the nearby drones before Mantia burst from the water and into the sky.

"Stupid creatures.  They must know that their stupid kamikaze attacks would have no effect against me.  Oh well, that means less work for me," said Mantia.  Mantia blazed over the crab and headed for nearby fuel refinery.  Mantia fired its laser cannons at the finery causing it to explode in a mushroom cloud.  Mantia roared with laughter seeing Macbeth workers running about on fire.

"I suppose I should put them out of their misery," said Mantia.  Mantia's three laser cannons popped out his body and aimed at the citizens.  Then they quickly retracted.

"Of course they should by grateful I spared their miserable lives.  It would be the only right and noble thing to do," said Mantia.  Mantia looked behind him as the crab reached the center of Space Dynamics Co., Ltd. and exploded.  The resulting explosion caused the entire place to go nova and smoke to fill the entire area.  When the smoke finally cleared, a large crater indicated where the buildings had once been.

"Lovely, simply lovely.  But alas I can't enjoy all my fun on this measly planet.  I must venture forth to Fortuna and the Corneria.  The good times are coming," said Mantia flying off.  Mantia burst free of Macbeth and blasted off into warp.

Fortuna: Fox and Dan were meeting with the commander in charge of the base.

"So, the new bio-weapons are in fact only designed to reach their target and explode," said the commander.

"That's correct," said Dan.

"Do you think that the creature will attack us, or the research stations a few miles from here?" asked the commander.

"I would say here only because that the creatures have attacked important military related targets. I don't think that research facilities would qualify," said Fox.

"It's your call," said the commander.

"It's for the best," said Dan. A technician turned from his console.

"Sir, you might want to see this," said the technician. The commander nodded his head and on the screen it showed a newscast.

"This is Macbeth news and here's the latest. A large crab managed to literally claw its way into the center of the Space Dynamics Co., Ltd., production building and explode, taking the production area with it. The bio-weapon Mantia proceeded to tie up local attacks in order for the crab to have time to reach its target. Two Wolfen class vessels were seen attacking it and one it seems rammed right into the creature," said the reporter. The T.V. screen switched to show the fighters approaching Mantia and ramming right into the creature.

"Oh no.  Not Slippy and Peppy.  They can't be gone," said Fox in shock.  Dan nodded.

"I always thought they were the weak link of your team.  But when push came to shove they shoved and they never looked back.  They truly earned their position on the Star Fox team.  We must press on without them," said Dan.  Fox shook his head rapidly.

"Yeah you're right.  They went out the way they came in.  Heroically," said Fox.

"Yeah.  But in the meantime Mantia should be here soon and I think we should evacuate the base," said Dan.

"You're right.  We're prepping all of our speeders at the moment.  We've also got a couple of Landmasters, which are being prepped also.  I'm assigning five fighters as escorts.  They're headed for a nearby science facility located in the mountains.  The facility isn't as well known and I'm guessing that whatever Mantia is preparing to do this base will be his primary objective.  You and Dan will launch with Grey Squadron.  Good luck," said Dallas.  Dan and Fox left for the launch bay.  They watched the scientists and their families being loaded onto the speeders and sensitive equipment loaded onto others.

"I feel sorry for them.  If Mantia has his way everyone will be in trouble.  C'mon let's go," said Dan.  Fox nodded and they boarded their respective fighters before leaving the base with Grey Squadron.  They flew beyond the outer perimeter of the base and zoomed off towards Mantia.

"All wings report in," said Grey leader.

"Grey 1 standing by,"

"Grey 2 locked and loaded,"

"Grey 3 ready for some butt kicking,"

"Grey 4 ready for to cause some collateral damage,"

"Grey 5 is in the house,"

"Grey 6 up and about,"

"Grey 7 is itching for some actions,"

"Fox standing by,"

"This is Dan.  We're about to go into battle and we may face the most deadly threat this universe has ever known.  It killed half of the Star Fox team and more than a thousand lives.  We cannot allow it to destroy Fortuna Base.  We simply cannot.  Our lives will mean nothing if that beast slaughters those in or around the base.  Good luck," said Dan.  The squad flew on over a couple of ridges when it sighted its target.

"A snake, this is just getting better," said Grey leader.  A gigantic snake was making its way towards the base.  In the background Mantia was seen flying off.  Fox growled.

"You won't escape ugly!" he shouted.  He keyed his boosters and was about to blast off when Dan swung in front of him.

"Ease down Fox.  Revenge is not on the menu.  We must focus on the matter at hand.  Mantia is headed for Corneria.  We've got to deal with this threat first.  That above all else is what matters," said Dan.  Fox nodded and shut off his boosters.  The snake hissed furiously at the fighters that were overhead.

"Fire!" yelled Grey leader.  The laser blasts hit the snake but the merely bounced off.

"What the heck?" Fox asked.

"Evidently its coated with an anti-laser skin.  We'll have to use smart bombs," said Dan.  He swung his fighter around and prepared to launch his attack.

"Use bombs wisely," advised Fox remembering his old friend Peppy and his policy and smart bombs.  Fox narrowed his eyes and slammed on the engines.  He caught up with the fleet as they fired their bombs at the snake.  Some detonated nearby, some hit the snake, and some were flung away by its tail.  The deflected bombs came flying back at the squad.

"Evasive maneuvers," said Grey leader.  The squad split up and the bombs exploded.  They explosion took out two of the fighters and they went plummeting towards the surface where they too exploded.  The remaining fighters continued their bombing run but the snake continued on despite the fact that it was heavily bleeding from several places.

"Man this thing's resilient," said Grey leader.  The fighters swung around yet again but this time they fired on a nearby group of rocks.  The rocks slide blocked the snake's path, which began to hiss furiously.

"If we can't defeat him then maybe we can slow him down," said Dan.  The snake's eyes began glowing.

"That can't be good," said Fox.  Twin laser bolts flew out of the snake's eyes and obliterated the rocks.  The snake then began firing at the pilots.  Two more fighters went down as the snake continued its path towards the base.

"There's nothing more we can do.  We must regroup with the convoy," said Grey Leader pulling off.  The rest of his squad pulled away along with Dan and Fox took a couple more potshots at the snake before pulling away also.

Meteo: Mantia zoomed through the belt at maximum speed hoping not to collide with any rocks.  However some still managed to slam into him causing the bio-weapon to loose speed.  After colliding with several large asteroids Mantia slowed down and carefully made his way across the system.  However right when he was in the thick of the belt, his robotic eye detected strange energy signatures.  Mantia proceeded to close in on it and see what it was.  The energy signatures belonged to some strange small orange objects.  Mantia zoomed his vision on them via his mechanical eye.

"Seismic Charges," began Mantia before fully realizing what they were.  Mantia closed his eyes and prepared for what was sure to come.  Sure enough dozens of explosions rocked the belt as Mantia was pummeled with rocks of every size and shape imaginable.  Mantia waited for the pain to subside after the rocks had stopped pelting him.  Mantia opened its natural eye and noticing that there were no life threatening wounds moved on towards Corneria.

Corneria: "It was worth a try.  At least we slowed him down," said Falco who was observing a radar showing Mantia's movements.  Pepper looked at him.

"I'm sorry about the Peppy and Slippy," said Pepper.  Falco shuddered.

"They did what was right.  I don't want to talk about it," said Falco.

"Falco," began Pepper.

"No.  Let's focus on fighting off Mantia," said Falco.  Pepper nodded knowing it was Falco's only way to cope with learning that half of his team was dead.

"You're right," said Pepper.  The two of them headed for the makeshift CDF HQ building, which was essentially the basement of a hotel in Corneria City.  Mr. President was down there also along with what remained of the generals.  Only three remained: Pepper, Brown(a grizzly), and Hopkins(an armadillo).  Pepper sighed knowing that the elite ruling council of the CDF composed of the president and twelve other generals.  Pepper put this beside him and sat down with them and the president.

"Options," said the president like always.

"Project X and our remaining ground units are our only line of defense.  Mantia took the liberty of severally damaging our forces on the other worlds," said the Pepper.  A small T.V. screen turned on and showed a grainy image of the snake wrapping itself around the Fortuna base and exploding taking the base with it.  In the background the faint outlines of the convoy where shown heading towards the mountains.

"At least the staff made it out okay," said Pepper.  Then the image burst into static.

"What's up?" asked Mr. President.  A technician ran up to him and showed him a satellite photo.

"Apparently Mantia and a creature that can only be identified as a dragon are destroying every satellite in space above Corneria.  The only way we can communicate with other units is through 'phones' or two way radio," said the technician with distaste.

"Do phones even exist anymore?" asked Mr. President.  The technician shrugged.

"We'll have to stick to radio then," said Pepper.  Another technician ran up.

"Sir, 17th artillery unit reports contact with the enemy," said the other technician.  The generals and the president looked up at him.

"What did they have to say?" asked Pepper.

"At least a couple hundred bio-weapons are marching towards them.  Some are flying and we've received reports of bio-weapons underneath the ocean but there is no doubt that they are converging on Corneria City," said the technician.  Everyone who heard that gulped but continued their work of setting up electronic equipment.

"Tell them to do what they can against the bio-weapons and pull back to the edge of the city where the other units are located at," said Brown.  The technicians nodded and ran off.  Pepper turned back to them.

"The war begins," said Pepper.  A few minutes later the bio-weapons converged on the CDF units on the outskirts of Corneria City and began battling it out.

_"To make a long story short they fought for the next few hours.  We'll pick where the timelines began to radically alter,"_ said the teacher.  The image fast-forwarded to a gigantic turtle waddling towards Corneria City.  The boats behind it were depleted of ammunition and watched helplessly as the turtle began pushing its way through several expensive hotels.  The creature kept moving inward and managed to shrug off all fire directed towards it.  The creature regrouped with Mantia and the remaining bio-weapons.

"Excellent.  Although 80% of our forces have been destroyed we've cause considerable more damage to the CDF and the local buildings.  In fact, what we're about to do now I only needed 5% of us to survive.  Four times as much is great.  Prepare the expanding circle," said Mantia.  Pepper landed his fighter on top of a high-rise building and took out some modified binoculars that allowed those down in the makeshift CDF base of operations to see what he saw.

"What's up Pepper?" asked Mr. President over the radio

"I don't know sir.  The bio-weapons have formed a circle facing outwards around Central Park.  I don't know what they're planning but it looks like…No it can't be," said Pepper dropping the binoculars.

"Pepper we can't see!" barked Mr. President over the comm.  Pepper picked the binoculars back up and showed the President and others the bio-weapons spreading outwards in their circle destroying everything in their path.

"It's a ring of destruction.  I haven't seen that used since Warlord Hammer attempted to invade Corneria City," said Pepper.

"What's a ring of destruction?" asked Fox also over the radio.

"A ring of destruction was employed on a much smaller scale by Warlord Hammer when he invaded Corneria City with his genetically enhanced soldier.  They formed a circle and moved outwards destroying anything in their paths.  It's not surprising that Mantia would use a similar tactic since it worked with devastating effect on portions of Corneria City during Hammer's invasion.  However this is much worse because the bio-weapons can actually topple buildings due to their enormous size.  We may have to evacuate and try again in Coastal City," said Mr. President.

"We can't.  We don't have enough forces to defend it.  We don't even have enough to evacuate.  We've easily lost 90% of our forces and we'll loose more if Mantia continues this ring of destruction.  We have to thing of everyone else and not just us.  If we don't surrender then those who are hiding out in the city will be killed also.  We must surrender for all our sakes," said Hopkins.

"You're crazy," said Pepper over the comm.

"No he's right.  Prepare a speeder," said Mr. President.

"Sir you can't.  It's better to live and fight than to die," said Pepper.

"Not this time Pepper.  We've fought too hard and too long.  I must secure the fact that our future generations will continue to survive," said Mr. President.  He left with the two other generals and they piled into the speeder as it drove off.  The speeder stopped in front of the expanding circle of bio-weapons and waited.  The circle stopped and the speeder was allowed to proceed towards Mantia who was on the ground in Central Park.  He began laughing as the speeder stopped in front of him.

"Come to surrender have you?" asked Mantia laughing.

"Yes we have," said Mr. President.  Mantia stopped laughing.

"Circle halt.  Return to center point," said Mantia.  The bio-weapons walked back they way they'd come.

"Well, well, it appears I've finally won," said Mantia.  The president looked at him coldly.

"You know what that alien said just like I do," said the president.  The generals looked at him confused and so did Pepper who had landed his fighter and joined them.

"Yeah that whole bit about how you should let me conquer the Lylat System or else I'd destroy it.  Andross told me about it before I was let loose on Corneria.  Tell me.  You were the president then.  Why didn't you let me rule?" asked Mantia.

"Because I believed that our destiny could be avoided.  I believed that you could be defeated and when the Star Fox team buried you in that quarry I believed that you had.  Now that you've returned I'm not willing to take the chance that you'll destroy the Lylat System," said the president.

"Sir, what are you talking about?" asked Pepper.  The president remained silent.

"I can't tell you," said the president.

"But I can.  A little over a century ago an alien came from another world, one that isn't in Lylat.  The creature told them all about me even though Andross wasn't even alive then.  The alien said that if I didn't rule Lylat then I would inevitably destroy it.  Andross found about it less than six hours before I was released.  He couldn't believe it and I couldn't either.  Now it appears that since I rule this system won't be destroyed.  The Lylat System has fallen to the enemy!" laughed Mantia.

_"I've made me decision.  Even though Peppy blew up Sector Z and Mantia later returned to destroy Lylat, it's better to die on your feet than live on your knees,"_ said the student.

_"Way to go,"_ said the teacher.

_"I made the right decision?"_ asked the student.

_"No.  You've just condemned the rest of their galaxy,"_ said the teacher.

_"I don't understand,"_ said the student.

_"You can't make decisions before you know their outcome.  Keep watching,"_ said the teacher.  The image showed a gigantic battlefleet approaching Lylat.

_"Who are they?"_ asked the student.

_"They're known as snamuH.  They're a violent and deadly species originating from htraE.  They conquer everything in their path and where about to try and conquer Lylat at the exact moment Sector Z exploded.  They explosion frightened them off so they didn't conquer Lylat,"_ said the teacher.

_"So?"_ the student asked.

_"As such they proceeded to conquer every other system in the galaxy in order to one day conquer Lylat.  That's part of the reason that the Lylat System never really ever encountered many other alien species.  The rest had all been conquered.  In fact the snamuH aren't expected to return to Lylat for another 100,000 years.  But let's see how things will wind up with Mantia in control,"_ said the teacher.  The screen reverted back to the system and showed a couple hundred fighters and a dozen heavy cruiser approaching Corneria.

_"They're fairly small,"_ observed the student.

_"They'd just started out to conquer other systems.  Lylat was their first attempt by seeing how advanced other species were.  Let's see how well they do,"_ said the teacher.  The ships entered the atmosphere headed for Corneria City.

Corneria City: Mantia was announcing his plans for control when they invaders came.  The fighters rained down laser fire on the ground causing everyone to scatter.  Mantia growled as the fighters began destroying buildings, bio-weapons, and CDF fighters that were on the ground.

"Are they allied with Mantia?" asked Fox as the hid behind a piece of rubble.

"No.  Why would they attack him?" asked Pepper.  Mantia burst into the sky.

"I just won control of this miserable system and I'm not about to loose it to anybody," said Mantia.  The bio-weapon began firing at the fighters will all have his weapons but the fighters still outnumbered the creature even with its power.

"C'mon we've got to help him," said Fox.

"Are you crazy?  We're better off without him," said Falco.

"I'd rather live under Mantia's rule than under some alien species.  Let's go.  After all the enemy of your enemy is your friend," said Fox.  The three of them ran off to their fighters and blasted off.

"This is Pepper.  Help Mantia and attack the enemy," said Pepper into a radio.  Several fighters blasted off into the sky to attack the enemy.  Mantia watched as a fighter that was on a direct ramming course exploded from laser fire as a Wolfen passed by.

"What do you think you're doing?  This is my fight!" exclaimed Mantia.

"Mantia.  We may not be friends, we may be life long enemies, but as much as it pains me to say this, we'd rather live under your control, under someone who at least came from this system, than by someone whom we know nothing about and comes from a different system.  Do you understand?" asked Fox as he performed a tight barrel roll to avoid the other fighters.

"Fine.  I don't want your help, but as ruler of your system I allow you and the CDF to assist me in defending this system.  But I'm not happy about this," said Mantia.

"Happy or not we can't let this system fall to foreign invaders," said Falco.  Mantia blazed forward accompanied by the CDF forces.

"Fine then.  Gen. Pepper I am aware that you're with us.  What do you suggest?" asked Mantia.

"I suggest that we take out their capital ships in orbit.  That way there won't be any fighters in reserve," said Pepper shuddering at having to help Mantia.

"Let's move out," said Mantia.  They blasted out of the planet and zoomed straight for the capital ships that were firing on the planet below.

_"Hold it!  I thought Mantia was evil.  You said so yourself,"_ complained the student.

_"Mantia is evil.  He's will restrict their freedom and will work them extremely hard.  However Mantia isn't going to kill them all just for the heck of it, not even Andross would do that.  What's the point of ruling a system with no inhabitants?  Mantia is protecting his territory along with his workers.  It's been down countless times before on the planet Earth,"_ said the teacher.

_"Yeah but humans are irrational,"_ said the student slyly.

_"That's not the point.  Just keep watching,"_ said the teacher.  The forces began engaging the enemy but the battle was going against them.

"They're incredibly advanced.  Nothing we're doing is even fazing them," said Pepper.  Mantia soared ahead of them firing on the capital ships to no effect.

"They've got incredible shields and unbelievable armor.  The first few ships that we encountered where probably slaves pressed into battle in inferior fighters.  These must be the cream of the crop with incredible fighters," said Falco.  A large explosion went off as the capital ships began firing large pulses of energy at the squads.

"Evasive maneuvers evasive maneuvers," said Fox.  The fighters all split up while Mantia blazed forward.  The bio-weapons slammed into a capital ship causing it to explode.  Mantia was flung away from the explosion and went floating off in a daze while the enemy fighters closed in on him.

"I never thought I'd say this, but we need Mantia alive.  CDF fighter 15-35, go and protect Mantia.  I know you don't want to, but he appears the only way to take out the large warships," said Pepper.  Some grumbles came over the radio and the assigned fighters peeled off.

"I hope he's not dead," said Falco when Mantia didn't move after the beating he was receiving from the enemy fighters.  A capital cruiser moved in and fired on Mantia causing a massive energy wave to develop.

"No!" exclaimed Fox.  A roar was heard and out of the explosion electricity flew out and short-circuited the cruiser.  An instant later Mantia came flying out with his body partially on fire.  Mantia slammed through the cruiser and it exploded flinging Mantia off again.

"I don't think this is a battle we can win.  Even with Mantia's help," said Pepper.  More fighters emerged from the cruisers and the CDF force was down to only fifteen fighters.  Down on the ground the remaining five bio-weapons and the CDF forces were down to only a mere thirty out of what had once been several thousand.

"We've lost," said Fox resigned.  Mantia flew overhead.

"We may be dead already but I don't intend on giving them this system.  We only have one option left: destroy the Lylat System," said Mantia.

"Are you serious?" asked Falco.  Another CDF fighter exploded leaving them down to only five fighters left.

"All great leaders know when to call it quits.  We may have lost the war, but we won't let them enjoy that victory.  I'm making my move," said Mantia flying off towards Solar.

"Good luck," said Pepper.  Another explosion rang off and then there were three: Pepper, Falco, and Fox.

"Fight to the death," said Fox.  The pressed onward against the enormous enemy fleet.

Solar: Mantia plunged into the core and focuses his energy and his thoughts.  Mantia glowed and exploded.

Battle: "Falco, Pepper nooo!" exclaimed Fox.  A wave of enemy fighters had separated the two and then they were both picked off.  An energy bolt hit Fox's ship and it went flying off before shutting down.  Fox was severally injured as several of his consoles inside his Wolfen exploded.  Fox knew that he was going to die and only hoped that he would see Mantia succeed.  Right before Fox closed his eyes for the last time he saw Solar explode.  Fox laughed before finally passing on.  The ensuing energy wave obliterated the entire system and destroyed all of the enemy fleet.  The teacher walked over and shutoff the projection booth.

_"I'll let your rash judgment slide.  Now what do you choose?  If you were an inhabitant of The Lylat System, would you condemn the entire galaxy just so you could live in freedom?  Who gives you the right to choose and who doesn't?  It's a tough question to answer.  Believe me I know.  When I was a student at one time I had to answer these hard questions.  It's tough to voluntarily die, but would you do it if it saved millions?  Only you have that answer.  I'll let you think it over and give me your final decision on whether you feel that it is our duty to change time or to leave this event as it is for better or worse.  In the meantime, let's move onto Viral Weapon X-7," _said the teacher.  And the student continued the student continued to wrestle with his internal feelings.  Did he have the right to sacrifice a system for the greater good?  How could he choose who would live and who would die?  His people did choose and they had influenced thousands of cultures throughout time and space.  The student continued contemplating even after the teacher began his next topic of discussion.


End file.
